Experts ask: Was lethal force necessary?

Rachel Jacksonand Allie Wright

Published 8:25 pm, Friday, October 4, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Police experts are questioning the use of lethal force against the unarmed Connecticut woman who tried to crash into the White House before barreling down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol, where she was shot and killed by officers.

"My visceral reaction is this woman shouldn't have been shot," said Thomas Aveni, the executive director of the Police Policy Studies Council, a research and training organization that studies criminal justice issues based in Spofford, N.H.

At least one officer was injured in the chase, which Aveni said could have been the "most salient" factor for the police to take action against 34-year-old Miriam Carey of Stamford, Conn.

Carey allegedly flipped a Secret Service officer over the hood of her car as she fled the White House and drove at speeds up to 80 mph toward the Capitol, with police cars in pursuit.

Near the Capitol, Carey smashed her black Infiniti sedan into several police vehicles before coming to a brief stop, surrounded by police officers with guns drawn. But she maneuvered the car through them and sped off again toward Second Street NE, where she was shot and killed.

There is no uniform policy among police departments for using lethal force, which necessitates good judgment from law enforcement, former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper said.

Most agencies carefully train their officers to use discretion in these kinds of ambiguous situations, but there are always unknown circumstances that could put both officers and bystanders in danger, Stamper said.

In high-speed car chases, Aveni said most law enforcement agencies bar their officers from shooting at moving vehicles because of concern that a vehicle with a wounded or dead driver could harm bystanders.

Stamper agreed.

"If you incapacitate the one person, however recklessly they may be operating, who is control of the wheel, if you have a body rather than a person behind the wheel of a car, that can do an awful lot of damage," he said. "The general policy is: Don't shoot at moving vehicles."

In a high-security locale like Washington, D.C., police officers might feel a higher level of caution when they protect the White House and Capitol, said Chuck Drago, a police practices consultant with Drago Professional Consultants, an organization headquartered in Oviedo, Fla., that analyzes and evaluates police procedures.

"But I don't think, even then, that would cause them to shoot any quicker because they've got to follow the law," Drago said, referring to their agencies' policies on lethal force.

Aveni said federal law enforcement officers don't seem to come under as much scrutiny as local officers do when it comes to using lethal force.

"Local officers face grand juries fairly commonly when they use deadly force," he said. "I have not seen it with federal law enforcement."

Both Aveni and Stamper said the mood in Washington could have affected the officers' reactions, especially following the Navy Yard mass shooting two weeks ago and the ongoing tension of a government shutdown.

"If the prevailing climate is one in which there is elevated concern about people disgruntled with the government shutdown or that they can't work,certainly I can understand where there might be elevated concern of that happening," Aveni said.

Members of Congress praised the Capitol Police's actions during the incident and gave the first responders a standing ovation on the House floor shortly after the incident.